The Duel of Roses
by The Twisted Pisces
Summary: A yugiohutena crossover
1. Foreword

The Duel of Roses  
  
Foreword :  
  
To our readers , righteous Utena fans and obsessive Yu-Gi-Oh fanatics ,  
  
This is a foreword by the esteemed author of this fanfic . Now , we realize that both series are registered trademarks of different anime companies , so that is why we are posting this DISCLAIMER . We are simply borrowing the characters of both series for our ( and if you can tolerate a few distorted facts along with a little O.O.C-ness in both series ) , then it is for your enjoyment , too . Now , the Yu-Gi-Oh card game and series have been edited to bits , unnecessarily in many cases , so do not blame me if all of the Japanese names of the cards and characters escape me . Now , for the fanatical Utena fans out there (albeit a twisted few) , you know how hard the series is to understand anyway , so some facts have been changed and you'll just have to deal with it ! This is why I , a Yu-Gi-Oh enthusiast , have enlisted the help of an ' Utena translator' to help me get crucial details just right ... or she will show me the wrath of the ends of the world ... Now , for those who have not yet realized that the Yu-Gi-Oh card game is a clever marketing scheme , be warned about the Utena series . Should you decide to pursue any accurate details , this series has no accurate accounts of anything ! The entire series usually only implies plot twists and disturbing details , so good effin' luck !  
  
WARNING, this fic contains not only the facts and characters from both the series, but from the Yu-Gi-Oh ! card game and the Utena RPG game, if you do not know anything from either of these sources, just hang on for the ride!  
  
WARNING, this fic contains some comic mischief , mature themes , much innuendo and violence . I will therefore rate this fic PG-13 , thus covering my ass from any legal backlash . Oh , yeah , and in case you have not guessed it yet , we've got some light profanity too .  
  
P.S. - This is OUR bloody fanfic and we'll do as we see fit ! Now , with our asses covered , enjoy , and may the otaku Gods be with you . ( Poor , pathetic wretches ... )DISCLAIMER ! DISCLAIMER ! DISCLAIMER ! We still do not own either series , and even if we still get sued , you won't get all that much anyway... 


	2. Chapter 1

The Duel of Roses Chapter 1  
  
Now , just in case all of you younger readers skipped the foreword , this fic contains LIGHT PROFANITY , COMIC MISCHIEF , MATURE THEMES and MUCH INNUENDO . I have decided to rate this fic as PG-13 , so if you are not at least thirteen , then STOP READING NOW . For everyone else , sorry for the interruption and on with the insanity ...  
  
It is dusk in the bustling city of Tokyo, but as with any large city, there is much activity, even after the workday is over. Cars are still rushing back and forth on the busy city streets, many a young couple in love are taking romantic walks through the park, and as was his habit, the president of Kaiba Corp, was hard at work in his penthouse office.  
  
Seto Kaiba, a seventeen year-old, certified genius and dungeon monsters fanatic, works feverishly on his desktop computer, he simultaneously verifies his company's stock prices, updates his online web site, closes a deal for some new holographic technology, and thumps a wannabe duelist at his favorite game.  
  
"Ah, there goes the competition again AND this pathetic excuse of a duelist! Blue eyes, destroy her wing weaver!" Kaiba laughs megalomaniacally as the competition's stock prices drop and his opponents life points fall to zero. His opponent, whoever she was, types in a frantic reply, unable to believe that she lasted even three rounds with the legendary Seto Kaiba. He types, rather flatly and almost disrespectfully, but he holds back, not wanting to discourage someone who had the potential to give him some competition.  
  
His opponent types back glad to get anything besides criticism from such a dueling legend. She asks, as the computer shuffles their online decks and they commence another round.  
  
Kaiba types his response, casually placing a battle ox in attack mode and equipping it with an axe of despair. He is shocked when, on his opponent's turn, she plays an eternal rest, obliterating his monster, then places two cards face down and attacks his lifepoints with hysteric fairy. He admits, assessing his options and trying to devise a strategy as his next card comes up.  
  
Wrath of Dios responds, watching as Kaiba places a monster in defense mode and two more cards face down. She places another card face down, a mystical elf on the defensive then attacks, only to have her monster returned to her hand by a Wall of illusion, and suffering a loss of fifty life points. She responds, shifting her turn to Kaiba for the moment.  
  
One thing Kaiba knew how to do was accept praise and adoration from fans , another was to reorganize and correct his own weaknesses . Deciding that this will be an entertaining duel , he concludes his online stockholders meeting and his online business transaction , looking to focus on the duel . He makes an uncharacteristic defensive move by equipping his only monster with a horn of light and a ring of magnetism , raising it's defensive power and ensuring that it is the only monster that can be attacked , then plays Maha Vailo in attack position and ends his turn . He types , smirking at his own strategy and his opponent's inexperience .  
  
Wrath of Dios responds by again playing Hysteric fairy , then introducing the field card , Luminous spark , which weakens her defenses , but increases her attack power . She switches her elf to attack position and equips a Malevolent nuzzler , further boosting it's attack points . She taunts half-heartedly , fully expecting him to do just that .  
  
Kaiba types , sacrificing his spellcaster to summon the demonic-looking Swordstalker and equipping it with his second Axe of despair . He decides against attacking , again playing on the defensive , and ends his turn . He asks , wondering if he has heard of it before , being that many schools have requested that he send them Mokuba once he was old enough .  
  
W.O.D responds , playing a Change of Heart and using it to control his Swordstalker . She uses it to obliterate his defenses and to temporarily remove it from the current duel , then attacks directly with her two remaining monsters , lowering his life- points to just under two-thousand . She asks , since she seems to have a legend on the ropes and has a massive lead .  
  
Kaiba warns coldly , activating some magic cards that allow him to draw even more cards into his hand . ( Ohtori Academy ... that sounds framilliar ... ) While placing more cards on the feild , he calls up a search program and lets it run through his personal archives . He asks , waiting to spring his trap on his unwary foe .  
  
W.O.D answers , summoning a Wingweaver once again . Her decision not to attack proves to be a fatal mistake , especially when Kaiba invokes the powers of the Lord of dragons and the Flute of summoning dragons , allowing him to summon two of his legendary and powerful Blue eyes white dragons . Their sheer power , combined with the Luminous spark feild card , then summoning Wingweaver from the graveyard leaves his opponent's forces decimated and nearly defeated . One turn later and Kaiba mercifully ends the duel , and claims victory over a crestfallen Wrath of Dios .  
  
W.O.D types humbly , accepting her loss easily since she had no idea who she was up against from the beginning . Just then , the search program that Kaiba was running ends , yeilding results that surprise even him .  
  
( What ?! Pegasus J. Crawford went to this school ! ) Kaiba is stunned , but also intrigued , since he had been trying to locate the elusive creator of dungeon monsters ever since his disappearance at the duelist kingdom tournament . There had been unconfirmed reports of his death , but Kaiba did not expect that Pegasus would want to be found after causing all that chaos , and therefore , was probably still alive ... Perhaps some records at Ohtori held clues to his wherabouts ? He types , already planning something with all the speed of a computer .  
  
W.O.D explains , never really starved for attention herself , but admittedly enjoying the attention from her many worshippers anyway . She types , following her message with a yawning emmoticon , but Kaiba is anything but bored .  
  
( An entire school full of talented duelists ... This could be a way to end my own boredom ... ) Kaiba thinks to himself , hungry for a new challenge ever since his last tournament , especially from the current world champion , his main rival , Moutou Yugi . He types , fed by his passion for his favorite game and his hunger for competition .  
  
W.O.D types frantically unable to believe what Kaiba is proposing .  
  
Kaiba types rather flatly , looking for an answer , not more questions .  
  
W.O.D types , readily endorsing the idea , and giving Kaiba the impression that she is jumping up and down in joy at the other end of this online chat .  
  
Kaiba types , signing-off once the message has been recieved and almost smiling at the prospect of another tournament . ( Now , what do I put up for a prize ? ) He leans back in his red , velvet chair , swiveling around to look out over the city as he considers the situation . ( How do I get a bunch of talented and rich kids into a duel such as this ? ) He thinks , absently noticing a discarded one-hundred yen piece on the floor , then is struck with inspiration .  
  
After spending the whole night on the company intranet , Kaiba and several of his top advisors have already set his plan into motion . A large college scolarship would be offered to the winner , or a cash award , depending on what the winner wanted . Since many of the contestants already had their post-secondary education paid for due to their rich families , however , Kaiba had to offer something else , of course . His marketing genius came into play from there and he decided that the winner would be immortaized on an actual , high-level duel monsters card !  
  
( Now , if I can find Pegasus , I can have him hand-paint the card himself ! It's the least he can do after all the trouble he caused me ! ) Kaiba proceeds to laugh in his usual , megalomaniacal way , but then realizes that locating the elusive creator of dungeon monsters would be next to impossible , if he was still alive ...  
  
" Onee-sama--! Seto ! " A vrey joyous Mokuba calls , bursting into his office and launching himself at his older brother . " It came , Seto ! It's finally finished ; my secret dueling weapon ! " He exclaims , babbling happily even as Kaiba rises to his feet , still wrapped firmly around his neck .  
  
" Excellent , I knew that even the R&D numbskulls couldn't screw this up ! " Kaiba almost smiles , since only a handfull of duelists had ever seen what he had now given to his little brother . Then he gets a sudden burst of inspiration , and carefully sets his brother down to convey his thoughts . " Mokuba , I'm going to be throwing another tournament soon ... How would you feel about entering ? It would be a great test for that new card of yours and for you ... " He offers his younger brother , who proceeds to go into what can only be described as a fit of happiness .  
  
" Oh , wow !!! I finally get to duel in a tournament with my big brother !!! " Mokuba and his long , wavy , black hair are soon somersaulting around the room in supreme joy and confidence . ( And this'll be easy , since I've got the world's best duelist as my teacher ! ) He is totally extatic ; not only did he now have an excellent platform upon which to make his dueling debut , but he now had one extremly ultra-powerful card with which to crush his competition . " I'll do my very best , Seto , and I'll take-out anybody in a duel that you ask me to !" He agrees readily , anxious to make his beloved older brother proud .  
  
"Just be ready , Mokuba ; this won't be any simple tournament ." Kaiba warns his younger brother , sitting back down at his computer to do some research and to organize some of the major details of this new tournament . ( Now , if this is going to be any kind of worthwhile tournament , I'm going to need to recruit some serious duelists ... ) Kaiba muses , going over the data from the last tournament for the top-ranked duelists going into it . Of course , his chief rival , Moutou Yugi , the only duelist ever to defeat him cleanly , goes at the top of his list . Kuyaku Mai would prove formidable as always , being the newly crowned European champion , and as such , would increase the hype surrounding this tournament greatly . Rebecca Hawkins , the reigning American champion , would also have to be invited , if only to bloster the already star-studded list . He and Mokuba would also enter , bringing the list up to five ... He was certain that 'Wrath of Dios' , whoever they were , would be entering as well , but he needed at least twenty duelists to make this anywhere near entertaining ...  
  
"Onee-sama ? It says here that you're trying to find Pegasus J. Crawford ..." Mokuba comments nervously , afraid after his first and only experience with the somewhat derranged creator of dungeon monsters .  
  
" He's only going to design the prizes , Mokuba , we won't be dueling him this time , and he hopefully , won't even have to be there ." Kaiba explains , thinking that a one-of-a-kind prize hand-painted by the creator of the game would seriously increase the popularity of this tournament . " The participants get to be immortalized in high-level , monster-cards , Mokuba . How does that sound ?" He asks his younger brother , who proceeds to jump for joy and begin whooping loudly .  
  
"That's gonna be so cool , Seto !" Mokuba exclaims , glomping onto his older brother , already picturing himself as a rugged , armored warrior with a massive sword . "Hey , looks like someone sent you a private e-mail ..." He comments , attracted by the flashing light at the bottem of the screen .  
  
"It's from Otogi Ryuugi , and he says that he'll enter if I have room ..." Kaiba summarizes the message , mulling it over in his head . Otogi was a gaming master like himself , and was accomplished for a part-time duelist , having already amassed an official record of sixty-six wins and no losses ... Deciding that Otogi would make a fine addition , Kaiba sends him an invitation , but also recommends that he get at least one-hundred official victories before the tournament so that he will not be accused of favoratism . "That makes seven , but we still need a few more from outside the school ..." He says aloud , wondering who else is worthy of such a glorious privilege .  
  
" How about Katsuya Jounouchi ? He's pretty popular these days ..." Mokuba suggests , unafraid of the scowl of disapproval from hi older brother , who was less than fond of Jounouchi . "I know you guys don't really get along , but he's ranked as one of the ten best in the world , and after your last tournament , I'm sure that he's got a decent deck this time ..." He explains to his glowering older brother , who seems less than thrilled about the idea .  
  
"I had better not regret this , Mokuba ..." Kaiba warns him , adding Jounouchi to the list , but only giving him a coach ticket for his flight . "Now , that's all I can think of at the moment ... Perhaps Yugi will have some ideas ... or better yet , I'll search for the deck with the most rare cards besides those I've entered , and add a few of the best !" He quickly begins to type-up the program , excluding the national top three , since all three of them had lost to Jounouchi in the past , making them hardly worth considering . He then sends an e-mail to Moutou Yugi , instructing him to enter and to invite anyone else that he might know of .  
  
" Oh , yeah ! I forgot earlier , Seto , but I got this envelope adressed to you downstairs ." Mokuba exclaims , then produces a fair-sized , white envelope , sealed with a wax impression of a rose .  
  
" Feh ! What the hell is this ? A love letter ?" Kaiba snorts sarcasticly , opening the envelope and reading through its contents . ( Wh- what !?! What the hell ?!? ) He is stunned when he notices that it is dated for over a month ago , then compares it to the contents of the letter :  
  
To the duelist Seto Kaiba ,  
  
I understand that you intend to hold a tournament at my esteemed Ohtori Academy . I grant my permission on behalf of the acting chairman , and I can gaurantee a warm reception for all involved . However , there is more pressing buisness to attend to ...  
  
Otori Academy is no average school , Seto Kaiba . In fact , it is but a gateway to the ends of the world , and I offer you the chance to see it for yourself . Upon the holy grounds on which Ohtori was built sleeps the power of world revolution , and that power can be claimed by you , Seto Kaiba .  
  
However , you will be offered the choice between this power , and a treasure that is unequalled in all creation . Few can ever hope to grasp either one , but you will have your choice of both , Seto Kaiba , and they are yours if you choose to come and claim them . I trust that you will make a wise decision in this regard ... provided that you are victorious . So give it your all , for the duelists of Ohtori seek the world revolution as well , and will let nothing stop them on their quest for what they desire .  
  
Yours , End of the World .  
  
P.S : I have a suggestion for the name of this grand event saeled within this envelope , I do hope you will consider it .  
  
Kaiba is in total shock , especially since this person , even if the date is fraudulant , would have had to mail the letter first , and there was no way that the mail was that fast . Deciding that since he cannot explain this for now , he checks the envelope and produces a small , silver ring with a pink rose crest engraved upon it .  
  
One week later , virtually the entire world is competing in duels on a grand scale , trying to become the duelists who will enter this prestigous new tournament . Finalists from the Battle City tournament have an automatic invitation , and the rest of the world has to compete for the few remaining slots . Kaiba had wanted to enter one Bandit Keith Howard , but no one had seen him for nearly a year and he was rumored to have died in an alley somewhere in America ... The national champion , Haga Insector , was indeed a worthy duelist , but Yugi and even Jounouchi had defeated him , thus nullifying his eligilibility for an automatic invitation . Ryuzaki Dinosaur had not even made it past his first match in battle city , and Kajiki Ryouta , the last at the top of his list , was indeed worthy , but Jounouchi had defeated him as well , thus forcing him to raise his rank with the rest of the world . This was beginning to get rather frustrating , in that Kaiba could not seem to find enough duelists worthy of attending . He needed some fresh insight ...  
  
"Mokuba , do you know anyone else who might make this a worthwhile tournament ?" Kaiba asks his younger brother , who is busy nearby with thier trademark metal briefcase , scouring it for rare cards to support his new secret weapon .  
  
"Well I think everyone's as sick of a few of these guys as we are , so I wouldn't even bother , Seto , since I think it'd be boring watching them lose to the same people again ." Mokuba answers , reaching over and deleting the names that Kaiba has not highlighted . "I think that since we've got new faces like Otogi and Rebecca competing with us for the first time , maybe a couple more new faces would add to the hype and make people take notice ." He explains , going for a longshot , but also intriguing his older brother .  
  
"Hmm ... You might have something there , Mokuba , but who do you have in mind ? It's hard enough to organize all of this already , so you'd best have someone in mind , otherwise , we'll have to resort to something boring and unistering ..." Kaiba warns him , deciding that he only wants worthy challengers and not rank beginners in his tournament . He wanted duelists with youth and potential , like his brother and the students from Ohtori , so that he could truly call this a new kind of tournament .  
  
"These two , onee-sama ." Mokuba proceeds to scroll down through the list of rare card holders and finds two in the top one-thousand that surprise Kaiba slightly . " Mazaki Anzu and Hiroto Honda are always following Yugi-san and Jounouchi- san around , and they were there for all of the battle city finals . They must have some experience , at least enough to compete , anyway , and they do meet the rare card requirement , Seto ." He explains thoughtfully , knowing that these friends of Yugi should know more about dueling than most low-level duelists and should provide more than decent competition .  
  
" I don't know , Mokuba , the other duelists might accuse us of favoritism ..." Kaiba warns , not wanting his integrity to be tarnished , or for anyone to say that someone was only invited because they were friends of the world champion .  
  
"They meet all the requirements , onee-sama , and besides , YOU already have Otogi and me invited , and we're both associates of yours ..." Mokuba reminds him , causing Kaiba to mentally slap himself for such a major oversight .  
  
"Fine , but they had better not make me sorry about this ..." Kaiba then adds their names to the official list , grumbling the whole way about how much he hates this new arrangement . "Now we've got just enough to make this interesting , and Ohtori finishes choosing it's duelists today as well , so anyone new who qualifies one week from opening day will be sent tickets accordingly ." He says to himself , slightly proud that things are comming together so nicely , but still displeaed that Moutou Yugi has yet to accept his invitation . Besides a way to turn a second-quarter profit that met projected estimates for his company , this tournament was also a way for him to reclaim his world title from Yugi . Then there was also what the mysterious 'end of the world' had promised him ... Not that he believed in such nonsense , even after some rather bizzare occurances during his last tournament , but it was worth pursuing at any rate , if only to disprove that such things exsist .  
  
"Thanks , Seto ! You won't regret it as long as the Ohtori students can hald their own against Yugi and the others ." Mokuba says just before glomping his older brother in an adoring hug , overjoyed that one of his ideas would be used in this tournament adn that his friends would now be entering as well . Kaiba simply tries not to lose focus as he arranges the invitations , ensures that anyone who is entering has accepted his invitation , and arranges for the equipement to be delivered to Ohtori . "By the way , do you know if the person you met online will be entering too ?" He asks Kaiba , releasing his grip , wondering if perhaps his older brother has actually made a new friend .  
  
"I still don't know who this person really is , Mokuba , but I know that they will be entered into this tournament for certain ." Kaiba answers , tracking the worldwide stats to see if any new names keep surfacing , or just how many times a name may appear at the top of his list , waiting to see if anyone in particular comes up . "They could even have been this 'end of the world' that sent me that letter a week ago ..." He muses , wondering if someone is attempting to manipulate him again , or if this is all some sort of elaborate hoax . Despite his caution , however , he still intended to proceed despite his lack of trust in 'end of the world' .  
  
"Oh yeah ! My computer's overloaded with messages asking me what you're calling this tournament , onee-sama ." Mokuba remembers that even he does not know what Kaiba is calling this mysterious , new contest .  
  
"All they can think to ask you is the name ?" Kaiba asks skeptically and critically , wondering what sort of dolts his younger brother is consorting with . " It's going to be named after the Ohtori school crest , 'the tournament of roses' , Mokuba , and the participants have to wear these ." He tosses a ring to Mokuba , and holds up his own 'rose crest ring' , unaware of it's true implications .  
  
"Wow , Seto , this looks really nice !" Mokuba exclaims , sliding the ring onto his finger , admiring how it seems to fit him perfectly . Kaiba simply cringes at how sickeningly sweet his brother sound when saying the woed 'nice' . "Hey , Seto , it looks like we're engaged !" He exclaims innocently , but causing Kaiba to brace himself against a face-fault . Despite their overall mood , however , they have no real idea what awaits them at Ohtori , or that they have been drawn into something far more serious than a simple dungeon monsters tournament ... 


	3. Chapter 2

The Tournament  
Of Roses  
Chapter 2  
  
Now , just in case all of you younger readers skipped the foreword and who can't remember the first chapter , this fic contains LIGHT PROFANITY , COMIC MISCHIEF, MATURE THEMES and MUCH INNUENDO . I have decided to rate this fic as PG-13 , so if you are not at least thirteen , then STOP READING NOW . For everyone else , sorry for the interruption , we now return you to the insanity ...  
  
Weeks after the mysterious letter from the man calling himself 'End of the World', Seto Kaiba was still hashing-out several of the important details concerning his tournament . As it turned out , he could not reach the acting chairman of Ohtori , and instead had to speak with a representative ... This man had informed him that he was the student council president , and that he had authority to say who could duel and who could not . Also, his contact , 'Wrath of Dios' , had said that the president was a manipulative bastard , and that as long as the tournament was to be held at Ohtori , the president could all but totally control the outcome of the duels . Next , after viewing the wonderful and utterly exquisite Ohtori campus after a quick flight , he determined that his dueling equipement would look quite gaudy and out of place . Lastly , since he had recently invested an astronomical sum in an upcomming american project , he could not afford to fabricate new equipment and have it transported over Europe .  
  
The problem of the untrustworthy president was solved by moving the duels instead to 'Kaiba Land Europe' , thus eliminating the possibility of his direct interference during the proceedings . As for who could duel , a free- for-all peliminary tournament was organized at the Ohtori campus , with the top duelists earning an all-expences-paid trip to the park for the duration of the tournament . Existing facilities also cut the cost of this venture greatly , allowing him to invite other duelists of his choosing to compete . He had considered excluding one Katsuya Jounouchi , an upstart rival of his , from entering , but Moutou Yugi , his chief rival , had insisted that his own participation was contingent upon that of Jounouchi . Other than traveling arrangements and accomadations for the participants , which would be primarilly the concern of his underlings , he was all but prepared as far as the preparations were concerned .  
  
As for the exact nature of the prizes , a whopping one billion yen was easily an attractive prize on its own , but Kaiba decided that this simply was not enough . He had also contracted an affiliate and apprentice to Pegasus J. Crawford to hand-paint a one-of-a-kind card , depicting the likeness of the winner , immortalizing them in the game forever . Lastly , while thinking of the excentric creator of the game , Kaiba decided to take a page from his book and grant the winner one favour from himself . This favour would constitute anything within his power to grant , short of taking his company from him , of course . He had been very cautious and specific while he and his lawyers added this particular stipulation , ensuring that he could not be bankrupted and that he would not lose one ounce of his autonomy over his company .  
  
With all but the list of ten Ohtori duelists to be decided, Kaiba had reserved a private room at his european theme park and boarded his private jet, which was now bound for the site of his tournament. This would be one of his most costly and potentially profitable ventures yet, and would easily earn his at least double what he had spent on it. Still, even when he managed to assemble such an elaborate plan, Kaiba was never fully satisfied until he was dueling a worthy foe...  
  
"Onee-sama, how tough do you think these Ohtori duelists will be?" Mokuba asks his older brother as their jet passes over Moscow, en route to their destination just outside of Paris, France. "I mean, who knows if they'll even be able to compete with Yugi and the others, much less you..." He sighs, believing that this tournament will be a real bore for his brother and the other elite duelists. No one really knew how good these Ohtori duelists were, but that might only provide a thrill until the duels began...  
  
"As much as I hate to admit it, Mokuba, the success of the tournament depends entirely upon the skills of its participants." Kaiba admits, loathing how he has to depend upon others, especially Katsuya Jounouchi, for the success of his 'Tournament of Roses'. "But as for the Ohtori duelists, most of them are either brilliant, rich, or both, meaning that they should all have an assortement of rare and powerful cards and be able to make good use of them" He hypothesises, hoping that they are not simply a bunch of snotty, spoiled nobles, since he hated weaklings who thought money made them powerful instead of brains. His stepfather had made that mistake...  
  
"I guess... but I'd rather fight duelists who won their rare cards, not bought them..." Mokuba agrees, still prefering to face duelists who did not need rare cards to win. The youngest Kaiba brother is sitting on the floor of what looks like a room in a mansion, but is actually their cabin on their own private jet. He is surrounded by dungeon monsters cards, and is currently assembling a deck to support his secret weapon; a proto-type card that would be tested by him for the first time ever in a tournament. Despite his focus on his cards, however, he notices his older brother staring out the window at the rising morning sun, looking almost depressed. "Onee-sama, is something bothering you? Should I leave?" He asks, concerned about the welfare of his only brother.  
  
"Just concerned about our future Mokuba..." Kaiba admits, not really surprising his younger brother, but getting his attention all the same. "Despite three attempts already, I have failed to defeat Moutou Yugi cleanly. In our last encounter, I made the mistake of relying on a card that was not really my own, and that caused me to make a fatal error..." He admits, knowing that despite what he was up against, he had predictably relied upon his most powerful weapon, 'the blue eyes ultimate dragon', to win the duel. Yugi had seen this comming a mile away and even had the cards to counter it without actually expecting to have to face it. "I will reclaim my place as the world's best duelist, it is simply a matter of time, now, but where do I go from there? What will be my next challenge?" He asks himself aloud, since his quest to reclaim his title had consumed him for quite some time now. He was very goal-oriented, but also prefered to have a plan as well.  
  
"Maybe you could help me with my studies, onee-sama?" Mokuba suggests, aspiring to be as smart as Kaiba one day. Kaiba almost smiles, and Mokuba chuckles a little.  
  
(True, I should focus more on taking care of Mokuba and securing his place as my successor when I am ready to step down...) Kaiba thinks to himself, taking care to preserve those endering qualities that Mokuba had during his education. Unlike himself, Mokuba would be less socially tone- deaf, he had decided that long ago. (Still, the only friends that he has are all of those fools who worship Yugi... Raising him is going to be a real challenge, especially if I want him to turn-out differently than myself...) He ponders this dilemma for awhile, then comes to a rather unexpected conclusion. (Mokuba deserves a real family, a WHOLE family...) He shudders when he realizes what he would have to do to give this to his beloved younger brother, but decides to work out the details at a later date, since they are fast approaching Kaiba Land Europe. (Mokuba needs a father, AND a mother...I'll need to take a bride...)  
  
Unbeknownst to Seto Kaiba, somewhere just over the France/Belgium border, the Ohtori students in question have already qualified ahead of schedule and are en route to Paris international airport. The finalists were given an all-expences paid trip to the new theme park, as well as permission to bring along one friend each. Some had declined the latter part of the offer, but the mysterious school chairman had insisted and arranged for some extra seats...Others had been granted permission via special request to have even a small entourage to accompany them. First class was full of teenagers for the first time in the history of the airliner, and most of them were taking full advantage of the services offered.  
  
"Now this is the life!" One Tenjou Utena comments, stretching-out in her seat as she enjoys the leg room and her complimentary tea. Although she had earned this vacation by qualifying for the tournament, she still wore her unconventionnal take on the Ohtori school uniform, much to the chagrin of school officials. The others were also wearing their uniforms, representing their elite prep school to the entire world at this tournament. However, many of them were too busy discussing some urgent buisness to enjoy their flight...  
  
"The Rose Bride will be on the line in these duels?!?" Kaoru Miki, the prodigous genius on the student council exclaims, nearly dropping his trademark stopwatch. "President Kiryuu, tell me that this is a joke!?!" He is understandably distressed, considering what this means for them.  
  
"This is no joke, Miki, and you shouldn't be so surprised; End of the World did send us a letter before instructing us to participate even before the tournament was announced." Touga answers rather flatly, brushing back his flowing, red hair and presenting them with a white envelope adorned with the rose seal. They all gasp, realizing now that this will be far more serious than a mere card game... "End of the World instructed me to inform you all of the contents of this letter, including the fact that several new duelists will be a part of these new duels." He explains, as Miki reads the ominous letter with their fellow members.  
  
"Touga! The Rose Bride deserves better to be wagered in a mere card game!" Kyouichi Saionji states angrily, enraged that his beloved Anthy Himemiya would be treated in such a way. "This is outrageous!" He hisses, realizing that things have just gotten rather complicated for them now.  
  
"So we have to defeat a new type of duelist at their own game?" Arisugawa Juri asks rethorically, deciding that this is no less demented or unfair than the way they have been dueling thus far. "Has End of the Would given-up on us?" She muses, unsure if she will truly be able to play this elaborate game again so soon...  
  
"No, he is testing us; regardless of how anyone scored in these duels, the entire student council was to be entered anyway!" Miki exclaims, pointing to a particular section of the letter, indicating that End of the World had arranged their entry prior to the announcement of the perliminaries.  
  
"So we're being manipulated as always... Well, what should be our goal in this tournament?" Juri asks, sharing their mutual understanding that winning Anthy put anyone in line to revolutionize the world, and to realize their own dreams and ambitions.  
  
"As with our traditional duels, only one of us can win..." Touga starts, ensuring that even the irritated Saionji is listening. "But as long as a student of Ohtori academy, not an outsider, wins this tournament, we will all eventually have other oppertunities to gain the power of revolution." He explains, smiling smugly, glad that these three could unwillingly assist him in his victory.  
  
"So our first priority is to eliminate these 'elite duelists', then concern ourselves with the duels." Miki summarizes, getting reluctant nods from Juri and Saionji. (I'm glad that I've been playing dungeon monsters long before now; it might give me a better chance than even Touga.) He thinks to himself, wondering how well the other student council members will fair.  
  
"We must win; or we may never have the chance to duel ever again." Saionji states, now determined to return to Ohtori with Anthy on his arm once again. "These interlopers have no right to take what we've all been grasping for since the beginning!" He declares, getting the same intense, almost maniacal look on his face that he always got during a duel.  
  
"Very good, you two, but what about you, Arisugawa-san?" Touga asks the only official female member of the student council, wondering if the one among them who is best in a duel of swords will attempt this new game.  
  
"I will duel, but only to prove that there are no such things as miracles OR dreams; I will prove it to the world, and to myself." Juri answers, intent on being one who lives the harsh realities of life instead of relying on chance to better her situation.  
  
"Excellent, and with myself and Nanami included, five student council members will be participating, so one of us is certain to win." Touga summarizes confidently, certain that one of them, or at least a 'Rose Duelist', will win the tournament, the top prize, and most importantly, the rose bride, Himemiya Anthy...  
  
Unbeknownst to the student council, however, Tenjou Utena, the one currently engaged to the rose bride, has been listening in ever since Saionji started yelling and awakened her. Normally, she was the last to know about details involving their dueling game, usually discovering things in the midst of battle. This had her worried; the student council would be a challenge, but to the best of her knowlege, no one had yet defeated Moutou Yugi, the current 'King of Games', cleanly in a duel. Plus there was Seto Kaiba, who had only two official losses, both to Yugi, but who also posessed some of the rarest and most powerful cards in the world. Either of them could easily defeat her, or the student council, as well as other 'Elite Duelists', of whom she hardly knew anything...  
  
"Utena-sama? Are you feeling okay?" Anthy asks, concerned about her friend and the one who was to defend her in the duels. Wakaba, who had also come with them, was off touring the plane, never having been in first class before. This left the two of them alone to discuss the upcomming duels without having her around to listen, or to become involved...  
  
"No, just... This won't be an easy time for us, Himemiya." Utena admits, afraid of losing her friend in the comming days. "I really don't want to lose you, Himemiya..." She admits, brushing away a tear.  
  
"Utena-sama..." Anthy trails-off, unsure of what to do or say in this situation, due to her inexperience in social situations. After a long pause, however, she finally finds something to say. "I don't want to be away from you, either, Utena-sama." She says, giving her teary-eyed friend a smile at the same time.  
  
"Himemiya..." Utena sniffs, warmed by this expression from Anthy, who hardly ever said anything of a serious or emmotional nature. For her to do so meant that all of the hard work she was putting into helping Anthy was not for nothing. "Thanks, Himemiya!" She exclaims, hugging a surprised Anthy, who freezes at the sudden physical contact with another person, but then relaxes and timidly returns the gesture.  
  
"Gaah!" Utena releases Anthy suddenly, blinded by the flash of a camera. Once the pink and purple stars fade away, she sees the three girls who follow Kiryuu Nanami around standing before them, holding a polaroid camera. Utena huffs and rises from her seat to confront the bullies who usually abuse Anthy, standing between them. "What do you three think you're doing?" She asks sternly, blushing lighty, but still mostly annoyed as Anthy looks on unemmotionally. "Not that it's any of your business, but we're gathering intelligence for Nanami-sama." The girl with pigtails and two simmetrical curls of hair on her forehead, Keiko answers snootily, believing that their association with Nanami makes them superior people.  
  
"Unlike you, she's going to win this tournament because she's studying her opponents." The one with shoulder length, black hair, Aiko boasts, hoping to intimidate Utena without supporting this threat.  
  
"As if an untalented tomboy like you could ever beat a great person like Nanami-sama!" The one with curly, shoulder length, brown hair, Yuuko taunts, waving the picture teasingly in front of Utena. They then all stick their tongues out at her, feeling completly above these social outcasts. Although annoyed by the tomboy comment, Utena is still able to respond cooly and calmly, shocking all three of them by smiling pleasantly before answering.  
  
"Well, I'd better practice really hard then!" Utena counters, but sounding unbeleivably positive and ambitious at the same time. "Tell Nanami that I wish her the best of luck!" She smiles, shaking the hands of each of the stunned girls heartily in the spirit of good sportsmanship. Shuddering at the sickeningly friendly response and broad smile on her lips, the three henchwomen slowly back away from Utena, then vanish in a cloud of dust. Satisfied with the result, Utena then sits back down next to Anthy. "Are you okay, Himemiya?" She asks, having defended the rose bride successfully once again.  
  
"Utena-sama..." Anthy begins, slightly shaken by the whole incident, slowly recovering.  
  
"Utena-sama--!!" An overly genki Wakaba, having apparently witnessed the whole thing, glomps onto Utena from the seat behind her."That was..." She starts to say, looking very impressed at first. "...Kind of scary..." She finishes, sweat dropping.  
  
"Oh?" Utena blushes, sweat dropping and scratching the back of her head, just before the seatbelt light comes on...  
  
A short time after the Rose Duelists arrive at Kaiba Land Europe, the Elite Duelists are all finally en route, scheduled to arrive at the new theme park the day before the tournament. Some of them would have to catch separate flights from other parts of the world, but Kaiba had seen it fit to book all of the duelists from Japan on the same flight. This was ill advised due to some bad blood between several of them, but Kaiba knew that it would only add to the emotion and intensity of the duels once they started. He would have an unforgettable tournament, especially if any of the Rose Duelists had the skills to eliminate any of the Elites. For some of them however, the possibility of an early defeat had not even entered their minds...  
  
"So Katsuya, you don't think that these rich kids will be a challenge?" Otogi Ryuugi, creator of the new gaming sensation, dungeon dice monsters, asks his friend and dueling veteran Katsuya Jounouchi. The truth was, to eliminate the experience edge that they had over the Rose Duelists, they were given very little information concerning the identities of their opponents and their decks. Also, they were quite a distance from Japan, so the feild advantage belonged largely to the Rose Duelists, not to mention that they had just recently learned that a random stipulation would be added to each of the first round duels. This meant that a random stipulation could defeat them even before their opponents did. Despite the fact that the proverbial deck had been stacked against them, however, Jono was still as confident as ever.  
  
"Hey, you act like this is my first tournament, and besides, I've had all kinds of crazy rules thrown at me in duels and I've always come out on top!" Jono boasts confidently, drawing a card, starting his practice duel with Otogi. "I'll use 'Fusion' to summon 'Thousand Dragon', then I'll end my turn." He says, left with only three cards in his hand, but satisfied with the results all the same.  
  
"Well, with moves like that, you'll probably do well in this one, too." Otogi observes, since fusion summoning required three or more different cards, and performing one on your first turn was extremly rare. "But even a weaker opponent can surprise you, like this." He smiles knowingly as he sets two face down cards, then summons a defence position creature and ends his turn. "You don't know what cards I've played, so you have to attack to find out." He explains, saying that the right surprise could beat even a beginner, especially when you did not know who you were facing.  
  
"Whatever, Ryuugi. I didn't get to the finals of the last two dungeon monsters tournaments by being afraid of what I can't see. Draw!" Jono counters, both verbally and in the game by setting one card face down, then summoning his 'Wyvern Warrior' in attack position.  
  
"I'll play the trap card 'Thunder of Ruler', which keeps you from attacking this turn." Otogi interrupts, glad that he chose this card for a duel against Jono, who always called your bluff. Jono grumbles something about delaying his victory, then ends his turn. "Now I'll draw, set one more card face down, then sommon another defence monster and end my turn." He declares his moves clearly and deliberatly, purposly playing on the defensive because he knew that Jono tended to make mistakes when he became overconfident.  
  
"Boring!" Jono declares rather bluntly as he draws his next card, sick of seeing the same old moves turn after turn. "I'll summon a defence monster, too, then have 'Wyvern Warrior' attack your first monster." He says, a little relieved when he sees that all it was was an 'Archfeind Soldiger', a card with no special effects, but then Otogi smiles and flips up a trap.  
  
"I'll activate 'Michizure', which sends one monster on the feild to the graveyard when one of mine gets destroyed, and I'll choose your dragon!" Otogi declares, chuckling as Jono spazes and grudgingly discards his strongest card on the feild to the graveyard. "Since you can't do anything else, I'll draw, then I'll set one more face down card, and summon another 'Archfeind Soldiger'. I'll use it to attack your 'Wyvern Warrior', then end my turn." He says, ending the reign of two monsters in the span of one turn, now leaving Jono on the defensive.  
  
"Aww, man! I'll need to draw something powerful if I wanna win..." Jono complains, drawing his next card, then getting a glimmer of hope in his eye.  
  
"So what yer sayin' is that Jono and the others, including you, Otogi, don't know what your up against, so you can only guess during the first round." Honda observes, since Otogi was trying to make a point by playing all of his cards face down without letting Jono see them until it was too late.  
  
"Yeah, that's right, plus just because you've seen a card before, doesn't mean that you know how your opponent will play it." Otogi adds, waiting for Jono, who seems to be looking at his face down monster, to make a move. "Come on, Jono, what's the hold up?" He asks, wondering why he is taking so long with this one turn.  
  
"So... you're saying that my brother will have trouble in the first round?" Shizuka, the adoring younger sister of Jono, asks, looking almost teary- eyed as she looks over to Otogi, who sweatdrops, now feeling guilty.  
  
"No sweat, sis, I'll switch 'Little Wing Guard' to attack mode and attack Otogi's face-down card!" Jono declares, since he has nothing to lose at this point. The sortie pays dividens when the duel is basicly restarted by 'Fiber Jar', and Jono soon regains the upper hand and wins in only three turns.  
  
"Aw, man! Come on! One of my own cards took me out!" Otogi complains, realizing now the flaw in his surprise strategy; that he could not predict the reckless dueling style of Katsuya Jounouchi.  
  
"Well, it certainly seems like you've got a great deck otherwise, Otogi." Yugi compliments his gothicly-clad friend, examing each of the cards within it. "Dice related cards are usually rely pure chance, but you've found a way to tilt the odds in your favor." He remarks, handing the potentially potent deck back to his friend.  
  
"Yeah, man! Don't mess with my 'Psycho Shocker'!" Jono boasts, reffering to an extermly rare and powerful monster card that he won in his last tournament. "There's just too many things to be worried about in life, Otogi, so why worry about what cards these pansy-assed rose duelists are going to be playing with? We'll beat'em stupid, then see who's really the best duelist!" He declares, promising that it will be a fight to the finish between them and NOT the rose duelists.  
  
"Yugi?" Anzu asks her friend in the black leather, curious about something ever since they boarded the plane.  
  
"Anzu? What is it?" Yugi inquires to his friend and occasional crush, wondering why she sounds so anxious.  
  
"Well... it's just that I was wondering..." Anzu begins, quietly leading Yugi towards the washrooms. "I was wondering if I'm the only one who has a strange feeling about this trip... I mean, like something major is going on and we're headed straight for the eye of a storm.." She shudders, since dueling usually lead to them into putting their lives on the line because someone wanted the millenium puzzle. "Besides, you remember what happened the last time Kaiba threw a tournament..." She warns, unsure of whether or not Kaiba knows what is transpiring this time, or if it will be as disasterous as his last tournament.  
  
"Yeah, I do have a weird feeling, but not like the puzzle is in danger, or us." Yugi informs her, beginning to become in tune with the senses of the ancient spirit which inhabited his body. "But, there is something powerful waiting for us at the tournament of roses, and I think that these rose duelists have something to do with it." He admits, not wanting to cause her concern, but to put her mind at ease.  
  
"So...is that why you and the 'other you' decided to accept Kaiba's invitation?" Anzu asks, inquiring about the spirit of the millenium puzzle, the one whom she had a private fancy for, but did not admit it. (He's always so intense and strong, and he always looks after Yugi and the rest of us, and he's always willing to put his friends before finding out about his past...) She blushes when she realizes that she was fantacizing in front of Yugi, then shakes herself clear in the head. "I mean, it doesn't have anything to do with us, but as long Kaiba and your friends are going, you want to go along to look after us, right?" She asks, since both Yugi and his ancient counterpart were quite selfless when it came to protecting their friends.  
  
"Well, that and the fact that I'm sure that Kaiba's keeping something from us again." Yugi answers, confirming some of her suspiscions. "He's witholding more than he has to to create a buzz, like he has something to hide about why he's throwing this tournament..." He says thoughtfully, concerned as to why Kaiba was refusing to tell them much more than what sort of prizes were being offered and where he tournament was being held.  
  
"Maybe it's an excuse to meet some hot, rich girl." Jono huffs, knowing full and well that Kaiba was never dating anybody since the tabloids never even bothered to invent a story suggesting otherwise. Everyone chuckles, but Otogi and Honda look thoughtful.  
  
"Hey, Hiroto-san?" Otogi asks the tall, young man with the broad shoulders, leather jacket and obscenly large hairdo.  
  
"Yes, Ryuugi-san?" Honda answers, clearly thinking the same thing as his friend and sometimes rival.  
  
"Think any of these Ohtori girls are actually cute?" Otogi inquires, since Jono would never let either of them touch his younger sister, Shizuka.  
  
"A school for a bunch of rich snobs' kids? People who only care about cash, designer clothes and good looks? Definitely!" Honda exclaims, almost jubulant when he realizes that he is getting an all-expences paid trip to flirt with some of the most attractive, young women in Europe.  
  
"So neither of you have a chance in hell, do you?" Anzu jabs cooly, deflating their egos in one, effortless stroke. Both of them sigh, defeated, but still hoping for some of the Ohtori girls to pay attention to them.  
  
"Man, she's harsh..." Honda sweatdrops, pitying whoever Anzu manages to manipulate into a relationship one day.  
  
"Tell me about it..." Otogi agrees, sweatdropping in kind.  
  
"Yugi-sama?" Shizuka asks the shortest male among them, sweetly and cutely as always.  
  
"Shizuka?" Yugi answers, wondering why she has such a puzzled look on her face.  
  
"What are you going to ask Kaiba for when you win?" Shizuka asks him, already knowing that her brother intended to further ensure that they had good futures to look forward to.  
  
"Well, I've been thinking of using the money to take care of Gi-san, but i don't know what I should ask for..." Yugi says, unsure of what he really needed from Kaiba beyond an honorable duel. He quickly finds an answer, however, when his millenium puzzle resonates, as if to offer a suggetion. "I think I'll go to where Gi-san found my puzzle, to see if the 'other me' remembers anything." He reasons, since it would certainly help repay all that his other self had done for him in the past.  
  
"Kind of makes you wonder what these spoiled brats are after." Otogi interjects, actually causing everyone to stop and listen to him. "If they're already so rich and talented, then what could they possibly need from Kaiba and his tournament? Or is there something that they're being offered that we're not?" He asks, perhaps a little more paranoid than anything, but always weary of someone who seems to want something more than an obscene amount of money.  
  
"Sounds more than suspiscious, Otogi, but it won't matter once me an' Yugi get through with 'em!" Jono boasts confidently, certain that he and Yugi are going to dominate the tournament. "These whimps won't even make it past the first round, so we don't even need to worry about what they want outta this!" He declares, feeling more than sure of himself this time around. "Maybe, but what if we're not the ones who should be worried?" Yugi asks, more than simply paranoid as his puzzle reacts, his other self taking over a second later. "What if they're not after us, but after Kaiba? It would not be the first time that one of his enemies came after him during one of his tournaments." The ancient spirit warns, reminding them of their narrow escape from cyberspace when two ghosts from the past attempted to take everything from Kaiba...  
  
"Yugi's right, guys; this could be another trap laid for Kaiba, and we could get caught in the middle again." Honda agrees, seeing Shizuka shudder when she remembers her experience from back then and cling to her brother.  
  
"Relax, Shizuka, it's just a guess." Jono reassures his younger, arburn haired sister. "These guys aren't gonna be after us, unless we decide that we HAVE to help Kaiba..." He snickers, not at all a fan of the young Kaiba corporation president, and looking forward to seeing just what sort of trouble awaits his sworn enemy...  
  
Later that evening, atop a duplicate Kaiba corporation tower in the middle of the dungeon monsters theme park, Kaiba Land Europe, the owner and overseas operator of the facility is, as always, hard at work. Seto Kaiba, having already selected his cards for the first round of the tournament tomorrow, decides to tour the five star hotel below. The rose duelists had arrived shortly after himself, and he is looking forward to meeting his contact, 'Wrath of Dios', as well as the school chairman. The mysterious 'End of the World', the one who inspired the name of this tournament, also entered his mind, but he decided that like 'Wrath of Dios', they were also among the student body. As for the remaining 'Elite Duelists', he had received word awhile ago that they had already arrived at the airport. For now, he wanted to meet his so-called competition.  
  
"Onee-sama, what are these guys like?" Mokuba asks, hoping that they will respect his older brother and the accomidations that he has arranged for them.  
  
"Just like any other group of people, Mokuba; some of them you can tolerate, but most of them you can't." Kaiba huffs, knowing just how spoiled and snobbish rich children could be. He and Mokuba were what they in high society called 'new money', meaning that they were not born waelthy, and therefore inferior to those that were, also called 'old money'. "I just want to see what we'll be dueling tomorrow, Mokuba, plus I have to speak to the student council president. He can tell the others what I have to tell him." He adds rather flatly, not wanting to indulge in mindless pleasantries, unless a viable candidate for an older sister or mother for Mokuba presented themself, of course.  
  
As the lift doors open, it is not too surprising that most of the room doors are open and that many of the Ohtori students are busy chatting in the halls. Most of them are female, much to his surprise, but that simply meant that there were better odds that a potential mother for Mokuba would be among them. Not many seem to notice them, probably since they are dressed casually and do not seem to be more than other guests here for the tournament.  
  
"So what do you think Seto Kaiba is like?" A girl with shoulder length, black hair asks as Kaiba himself walks by, absently listening in when he hears his name.  
  
"Oh, probably just some stuffed-shirt, uptight stiff, Aiko." Another girl with curly, brown hair answers, unknowingly eliminating herself from the running for prejudging him. Mokuba would not have a judgemental snob for a mother, and besides which, they seemed too young, anyway.  
  
"Nanami-sama said that she's already decided what to ask him for when she wins." The third girl among the small clique pipes up, speaking rather highly of someone who has never been entered into a dungeon monsters tournament before.  
  
(That one is way too much of a follower, and the one she's talking about sounds like more of a child than Mokuba.) Kaiba chuckles lightly to himself, knowing that even his younger brother, though inexperienced, would never take anyone so lightly.  
  
"Really? What does she want?!?" Aiko asks excitedly, displaying her own blissful ignorance and eliminating herself at the same time.  
  
"She said that she's going to announce it at the banquet this evening." The pigtailed one replies, very excited about this as well, but by now now, Kaiba has moved on...  
  
"Wakaba, you're getting heavy..." One girl carrying another on her back complains, sweatdropping at the effort that it has taken to carry her hyperactive friend all the way down the hall. This girl, besides being easy on the eyes, with acceptable proportions, a cute face and long, strawberry blond hair, catches his attention, but not because of her looks. Unlike the rest of the young women, she wore a boys uniform, comprised of snug, red shorts, white socks, and a very unique, black jacket with red trim. This, in his mind, showed that she had a strong sense of self. She was also not wearing any visible jewlery or makeup, meaning that she did not value things like appearance and wealth over all else.  
  
(Maybe this one...) Kaiba thinks to himself, wanting not only a free thinker as a surrogate mother for Mokuba, but someone close enough to his own age that he could consider her as an older sister. He had decided that Mokuba would have an easier time warming to someone outgoing and not much older than himself. This girl, whoever she was, fit most of his hastily assembled but still carefully considered criteria, thus making her a top candidate on his list of potential brides.  
  
"Utena-sama?" A rather petite, demure, dark-skinned, purple haired girl with glasses asks the girl that Kaiba was considering asks suddenly, looking right at him.  
  
"(Ugh!) Yes, Himemiya?" Tenjou Utena asks, hefting her energetic friend off of her back and stretching in a very cat-like fashion.  
  
"Isn't this Seto Kaiba, the man you met on the internet?" Himemiya Anthy asks, gesturing to Kaiba and Mokuba, rather bluntly and suddenly pointing them out to a shocked Utena and Wakaba.  
  
"NANI!?!" Wakaba exclaims, apparently upset about something as she grabs Utena by the collar. "YOU MET SETO KAIBA OVER THE INTERNET AND DIDN'T TELL ME?!?" She seems almost frantic, then suddenly begins to have tears in her eyes. "Have you been cheating on me, Utena-sama? Don't I make you happy?" She whimpers, causing Utena to sweatdrop and blush heavily.  
  
"Didn't you say that you'd be my mistress before, Wakaba-kun?" Utena asks her spastic friend, adapting rather quickly and turning an awkward situation for her around in an instant. She then turns to Kaiba, whom she is certain must think she and her friends are rather odd by now. "Um...I'm the one who told you about the school, 'Wrath of Dios', remember?" She says rather timidly, but speaking to him as if he is a normal person, not the president of a multi-billion dollar, international corporation. This was almost worth responding with pointless, social banter, but he decides to stick to business.  
  
"You are 'Wrath of Dios', are you? Then I assume that I'll find your real name on the list." Kaiba says rather critically, snapping his fingers. Mokuba then produces his laptop computer, and proceeds to look for the name 'Utena' on the list of qualifying duelists.  
  
"Woah! It says here that she's the qualifier with the most points, Seto!" Mokuba exclaims, surprised that the best duelist from Ohtori, statistically, is a girl. Most of the duelists in the last tournament were male, after-all.  
  
"Excellent, you've saved me a great deal of time by finding me, Tenjou- san." Kaiba informs her, since he had wanted to see both the top rose duelist, and his contact. "I'm going to put you in the first round tomorrow, so prepare your deck tonight." He cautions her, expecting one of the few to ever pose even a small challenge to him to provide the crowd with some excitement during the first round.  
  
"Er...Why? I mean, aren't the drawings random?" Utena asks, wondering how it is that Kaiba seems so certain that she will be dueling on the first day of the tournament.  
  
"True, so even though you'll duel tomorrow, your opponent will be chosen at random from the list of 'Elite Duelists'." Kaiba answers, intending that each 'Elite Duelist' face a 'Rose Duelist' in the first round.  
  
"Well, I guess I'd have to face one of you eventually..." Utena chuckles and sweatdrops, nervous about facing a formidable opponent right away, but accepting her fate nonetheless. (No use worrying about who I have to duel, I have to win to protect Himemiya...) She thinks to herself, resolving that she will be victorious despite the dangerous list of challengers before her, as well as her own schoolmates.  
  
"Impressive, you're not whining or pleading like I expect of the others." Kaiba nods thoughtfully, seeing some fire behind her eyes. "If you win, you can choose when to duel in the next round, but don't expect any other favors after that. I'll be competing as well, and so will my brother, Mokuba." He informs her grudgingly, wanting to give the person who inspired all of this some special treatment, especially since she did not seem to be an insipid, spoiled twit. Mokuba deserved the best in an older sister/mother, but Kaiba had to at least be able to tolerate her. So far, Utena was by far the most interesting young woman here, and she did not seem inclined to complain or run when faced with adversity, much like himself.  
  
"Hai, onee-sama." Mokuba steps forward and bows to the three young women, who blush and bow in turn. Wakaba, however, smiles almost mischeviously at him. "Er...why are you looking at me like that?" He asks worriedly, sweatdropping.  
  
"Hmm..." Wakaba hums thoughtfully, as if she is trying to decide something for herself. "You're... so cute---!" She exclaims, smiling at the surprised heir to the Kaiba corporation, who blushes and looks away, embarassed about getting attention from such a cute, older girl. "Aww, see? He's even cute when he blushes!" She pats his head, wanting to snuggle him until he screams, all the while with Mokuba backing away slowly.  
  
"Onee-sama, the girl with the onion-hair is scaring me." Mokuba clings to the sleeve of his older brother, sort of worried that Wakaba may want to put him in a dress against his will.  
  
"I'll see you at the tournament tomorrow, Tenjou-san, and you had best be right about your school being full of expert level duelists." Kaiba says, walking past them, slightly annoyed by the one friend who seems to want to molest his younger brother and who will not shut-up. Her other friend was tolerable and polite, hardly ever saying anything, he observed. (There's more to that other girl than there seems... How did she know what I look like when the others didn't? And why did she adress Tenjou as 'Miss Utena'?) He wonders, before he stops as a group of well-dressed, Ohtori students, all wearing special uniforms, exit one of the lifts.  
  
"So that's it, then? Just let them do as they please?" The only woman among them asks crossly, almost with the same, serious, business expression that Kaiba used. Her hair is styled in decadent, orange curls, and her uniform and green eyes compliment her stylish, but sophisticated appearance. "Is that wise? Suddenly freeing them from the rules like this? It could reflect badly upon our school..." She seems overly concerned about something or someone, and is speaking to a taller man with long, flowing, red hair.  
  
"The other students will not misbehave, Juri-san, they will comport themselves as we would in their place." The taller, young man answers in a very smooth, almost seductive voice. "As for us, we should make an early appearance at the banquet, to set a good example in front of our host." He adds, sounding like a respectable, mannerly young man, as well as the one in charge, so it does not take Kaiba long to deduce who he is. "Kiryuu Touga, student council president of Ohtori academy." Kaiba says abruptly, making his presence known to these four, who are obviously the Ohtori student council. "I was told that you'd be speaking on the chairman's behalf during the tournament, right?" It is not so much a question as a statement of fact or an order, since Kaiba has become impatient and wished to hurry tonights proceedings along in a timely fashion.  
  
"Yes, and you must be Seto Kaiba, president of the Kaiba corporation and our generous host." Touga bows in a show of respect, at which Kaiba simply huffs and has Mokuba bow for him. "This is the rest of my council,vice president Saionji Kyouichi, fencing team captain Arisugawa Juri, and Kaoru Miki." He introduces the rest of the student council, who each bow when their name is spoken.  
  
"I expect a great deal from the lot of you, including the rest of the rose duelists, so I expect you to deliver an acceptable performance tomorrow." Kaiba says sternly, not wanting to make friends, but not necessarily earning resentement from the student council.  
  
"We know what is expected of us, and we will defeat the elite duelists." Juri says, her voice unwavering as she speaks. "This is no pleasure cruise for us, Kaiba-san, we're going to crush these so-called 'elites' and thereby prove ourselves to be the better duelists." She says very 'matter of factly', as if their victory is already assured.  
  
"That had best be well-founded confidence, because I will not be known for allowing mediocre duelists into my tournament." Kaiba states, appearing to be rather indifferent, but privately, he is eager to duel opponents with apparently unshakable confidence like himself. "Now, if you've got anything else relevant to say, I suggest you save it for dinner, where I'll announce the exact details of the first round." He explains, walking past them with Mokuba at his heels, done talking for now.  
  
"He's as you said he'd be, president Kiryuu." Miki comments, watching as the Kaiba brothers decend the stairs towards the lobby and dining areas. "Though I did not expect that he would be relying upon us so heavily for the success of his tournament." He adds thoughtfully, since Kaiba had more or less demanded that they perform flawlessly during their duels.  
  
"He's not; I suspect that we will soon be enlightened as to the how he planned to compensate if we were less than he expected." Touga explains calmly, leading them towards the stairs after the Kaiba brothers.  
  
"He's done it in a way that puts posession of the rose bride in jepordy, Touga." Saionji huffs, annoyed that he will have no chance of meeting Utena in the first round. "If Tenjou loses, then one of those 'outsiders' becomes the engaged." He growls, despising competition for posession of his beloved Anthy, especially competition that could walk away with her after the first round.  
  
"Relax, Saionji, as Tenjou has shown you three times already, she is not so easily beaten." Touga says, reminding his friend that despite repeated attempts, that he has always lost whenever he duels with Tenjou Utena. "She will not lose until she duels with one of us, I assure you." He adds, chuckling as they decend the staircase along with some of the other Ohtori students, confident that a rose duelist will leave this tournament with the rose bride in tow.  
  
Once the student council arrives downstairs, they are greeted with a number of unexpected surprises. The first being that Tenjou Utena and the rose bride, Himemiya Anthy, are already there gourging themselves on the deluxe buffet spread. The second being that their opponents, the elite duelists, have already arrived and are currently standing throughout the room. The most unexpected of all, however, is that a rose duelist has already engaged the current 'king of games' in conversation; Kiryuu Nanami!  
  
"This does not bode well for first impressions, Touga." Juri huffs, noticing that the fameous Kujaku Mai has also arrived, and is chatting with one Katsuya Jounouchi. "I think I'll go and see if anything can be saved." She sighs, going over to meet possibly the best professional female duelist in the world.  
  
"Oh, my, should we go and stop Nanami-sama from doing anything unbecomming of a student council member?" Miki asks, noticing that Saionji has disappeared somewhere for a moment.  
  
"I will, but it seems as if you'll be otherwise occupied, Miki." Touga comments, walking away just as a pair of hands wrap around blue eyes. Miki knows who it is right away.  
  
"Hello, sister." Miki greets his identical twin sister simply, smiling even though he is certain that she has been up to her usual immoral behavior.  
  
"Ah, brother dear, is that any way to greet one of the duelists who placed higher than yourself on the qualifying list?" Kozue asks her perpetually serious brother, happy that she is able to be with him at the tournament.  
  
"What? How do you know that?" Miki asks, certain that there is no way that she was 'dating' Seto Kaiba already.  
  
"Oh, you see the cute, little mallrat following Kaiba-san around?" Kozue points to the young boy dressed in the latest baggy, American fashions who is standing beside their host. "I gave him a little kiss, and he showed me where I was on the list." She explains, smiling over at Mokuba, who blushes and turns away. "Such a shy boy, like someone else I know..." She purrs, holding onto her dear brother in a way that might be more typical of a girlfriend than a sister.  
  
"So what do you plan to do if you win, Kozue?" Miki asks, changing the subject as he brushes her away and moves towards the rose duelist table. He leads her as far as her seat, then sits down next to it.  
  
"I could tell you, brother dear, but that wouldn't be any fun, now would it?" Kozue chuckles, sitting down next to him just as Saionji joins them.  
  
"Saionji?" Miki is surprised to see him, curious as to why he chose not to socialize with the rest of them for very long.  
  
"It seems that our opponents have no idea what true prize is at stake here." Saionji answers simply, obviously referring to Anthy and the power of world revolution that comes from posessing her. "They have no clue about the the rules of the rose seal, or that they are about to play by them." He adds, uncertain as to whether this is to their avantage or not, since Utena was equally as clueless when she won the rose bride for the first time.  
  
"So, you're all playing that 'game', are you?" Kozue asks idly, aware of the rules of the rose seal since she recently served as a rose bride for her brother. "Well, then that means that I have a chance to claim the power of your sweet Anthy, don't I?" She flashes her brother her rose crest ring, stating her intentions for this tournament.  
  
"I will be the only one to posess Anthy, and besides, YOU are not even a real duelist." Saionji corrects the smug Kozue, not seeing Miki as a real threat to his 'imminent' victory.  
  
"This ring says that I am, Saionji-sempai." Kozue retaliates rather mockingly, knowing that she is right. "I have no interest in that usless woman, so you can have her after I've claimed her power." She huffs, boldly stating, as others have already, that she intends to win the tournament, as well as the power of world revolution.  
  
"Kozue..." Miki begins to lecture his morally corrupt sister, but gives up when he realizes that he may as well be beating a dead horse. He breathes a heavy sigh, swallowing some pride before responding to her statements. "Try not to show-off; these duelists do not truly know what they are about to be a part of." He says half-heartedly, deciding to side with his sister for the moment, since her victory would mean that Anthy stayed at Ohtori, as well as his own, of that of Saionji.  
  
Across the room, oblivious to the true scope of things to come, Kiryuu Nanami is busy chatting with arguably the best duelist in the world, Moutou Yugi. She had wanted to assess the strength of her opponent, but besides which, she also had to brag about how good she was...  
  
"So, Yugi-sama, what will you do if you have to face one of your friends in the next round?" Nanami asks him, wondering exactly what sort of person Yugi really is.  
  
"Well, I've had to do it before, so I guess I'd treat them just like any other opponents." Yugi answers truthfully, trying to determine where this strange, almost ominous feeling is coming from. It had started as soon as he had donned his rose crest ring, and when he had conferred with his other self as to what to do, his other self was, for once, at a loss for good advice. He had said that the ring was a symbol of power, like the millenium symbol, and like the millenium symbol and items, it was not the artifact, but the user that determined whether it was a symbol of good, or one of evil. This caused him concern, since he did not know what sort of power it was, nor what sort of people he was speaking to.  
  
"Hmm? So everyone's the same when you're dueling? No friends or enemies, just oponents?" Nanami asks, since this was how her older brother, Touga, had instructed her to view this tournament.  
  
"Well, they're still my friends, so I give them my best, because I know that they can take it, and dish it out." Yugi chuckles, remembering how tough Jono and Mai had been to defeat during his first major tournament. "I don't think it's cruel to beat them if I can, but it's something I'd want them to do for me." He explains, not really sure how he feels about this, but then, with another entity that fuses with him whenever he duels, how could he describe the feeling when he was not?  
  
"Nani? I don't really get it..." Nanami sweatdrops, wondering if the fameous Yugi is always so muddled.  
  
"I just feel like I can do anything when I'm dueling, because I know that I'm never in any duel alone." Yugi says, finding the answer to be closer at hand than he would have imagined when he spots Anzu giving Otogi and Honda their well-deserved hourly beating. "My friends are always there with me, one way or the other, so it's kind of like dueling all at once. So when I'm facing one of them, we both feel the same connection, so we duel fairly and honourably." He finishes, hoping that she understands that now.  
  
"My, my, it seems that you must be close, having won so many times like that." Nanami observes, looking at all of his fellow elite duelists throughout the room. "All I need is my big brother behind me, and I can win no matter what!" She declares, proud that she does not need to rely on more than one person to have confidence, giving her usual, maniacal laugh.  
  
"Er...Heh...Um..." Yugi sputters, sweatdropping with everyone who can hear the chilling laugh. Yugi had heard this type of laugh before however, so he was curious as to if she also had the same confidence as this other person. "So you must have some pretty powerful cards to be so confident." He says, wanting to stop her unerving laughter as soon as possible.  
  
"Oh? Well, I'll just wait until the tournament to show..." Nanami is in mid- sentence when a very tall, young man wearing black clothing with a silver trenchcoat steps in front of her, interrupting her.  
  
"Hello, Yugi." Kaiba greets, emmotionless as he is with all else, but eager to face his rival in a duel. He is oblivious to the girl he just disregarded, who is annoyed that she is being ignored.  
  
"Hello Kaiba." A swiftly merged Yugi returns the greeting, sounding almost happy to see his rival, probably because some of his most memorable duels had been with him.  
  
"I see that you've accepted my terms." Kaiba observes, noticing the rose crest on the ring finger of his greatest rival and greatest obstacle to becomming world champion again. "But rest assured, I will not lose to you ag...?" He is interrupted when a young blonde in a snug, yellow and black student council uniform simply and even stupidly shoves him aside.  
  
"As I was saying, Yugi-sama, before I was interrupted..." Nanami starts again, shooting a dirty look at Kaiba, who is momentarily dumbstruck at the idea that someone would have the audacity to interrupt HIM. "I'll let everyone see what cards I have when I win tomorrow, so I'll just wish you good l...!" She gives a slight huff when Kaiba steps infront of her again, still ignoring her like she is nothing. All of the elites are now watching this encounter, aware of the tension between Yugi and Kaiba, and stupified at the actions of this girl.  
  
"I'll defeat you Yugi, so whatever you planned to ask me for, forget it, because I'm the one that's going to win and reclaim my title as the number one duel..." Kaiba begins his usual promise of victory and display of fortitude in front of the other duelists, but is shoved aside once again. Now, he was annoyed.  
  
"Are all of your rivals this rude, Yugi-sama?" Nanami asks, treating Kaiba as if he is not there, speaking directly to Yugi. "I don't understand why you put up with this obsessive, ill-mannered loser..." She adds, raising a good question, but crossing a line; now Kaiba was mad.  
  
"Who are YOU to be calling ME a loser!?!" Kaiba demands angrily, getting the attention of nearly everyone else in the room, the rose duelists and elite duelists included. "I'm Seto Kaiba, president of the Kaiba corporation AND the owner! What ridiculous logic made you decide that anyone with my kind of power was a loser?!?" He demands, still confident and ready to defend himself against this ignorant, little twit.  
  
"Wow, you're smart enough to run all that and you still can't win a silly, little card game?" Nanami answers back, stunning everyone in the room, and making Jono and Honda laugh at the expense of the Kaiba corporation president. "I'm Kiryuu Nanami, a member of the Ohtori student council, the ones who'll put all of you to shame!" She declares, laughing heartily, either supremly confident, blissfully naiive, or both at once as she taunts a young man rumoured to be capable of murder...  
  
"The only thing shameful around here is your distorted, twisted sense of reality, little girl." Kaiba huffs, angry and slightly wounded in terms of his pride: She was right in that he had failed to accomplish what should have been a simple task all three times; to decisively and cleanly defeat Yugi. He had underestimated Yugi the first two times, having had to use rather unbecomming tactics to win the second time. The third time was a fair duel, but he had not known that a creature capable of defeating the fabled 'Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon' had exisisted. Another reason may have been that he was initially relying on a card that was not truly his... For now, however, whatever the outcome of the tournament, he was only focused on winning this arguement.  
  
"Wh...Wh...What?!? I'm NOT a little girl!! And besides, YOU aren't exactly an adult, either, are you?" Nanami shoots back, annoyed that Kaiba, though he was three years closer to adulthood than her, had called her a mere child. By this time, Yugi, although he was usually pretty naiive, has slipped away, fearing for his life. Many of the others are glad to see that he made it out in one piece, but at the same time, are enjoying the fact that Kaiba is being matched blow for blow in a battle of wits. "I'll bet that you've never even had a single girlfriend, have you?" She taunts, knowing full well that in her circles, if someone as rich as Kaiba, an eligable bachelor for now, was seeing somebody, it would not stay quiet for long.  
  
"I'm not a boy or a freak; I don't like little girls." Kaiba retorts, implying that he has no use for dating a female who is not of age, nor one who is too immature. "Mokuba, find out where this ingrate is on the qualifying list." He instructs his younger brother, who does so almost instantly, since he was waiting for a chance to help his older brother.  
  
"She's in last place, Seto, just barely high enough to qualify." Mokuba answers, seeing that her overall score for her duels and number of rare cards is considerably lower than evern the ninth seeded duelist. Nanami huffs, unphased by her seemingly poor performance, but Kaiba sees things differently.  
  
"So you just barely qualified, and still you expect to be able to beat the best the world has to offer?" Kaiba laughs almost heartily, actually amused at how brash this girl is acting since she is barely up to the standards of his tournament. "Why don't you just quit now, because I promise you, I won't have an ungrateful ameteur getting anywhere in my tournament!" He promises, already devising ways to eliminate this pretender early on. Nanami, rather than remain shaken, however, manages to recover and strike back like a spitting cobra.  
  
"I have no reason to quit when all I have to do is win a simple game, especially when the one with three of the rarest cards on earth can't even reclaim his title with their combined power." Nanami answers observantly, knowing just how to pick on a personal weakness to make a person feel small. In this case, it was the fact that despite leaps and bounds in terms of experience and skill, Kaiba was still unable to defeat Yugi in a fair duel. "Can you really be that good when you can't even win with all those powerful cards at your disposal?" She adds, knowing already that Kaiba hated people to question his expertise, especially when it came to his favorite game.  
  
"You fool! The only reason that I have those cards is because I crushed every opponent even before I had them: It's only fitting that the strongest and rarest cards in the world be posessed by the best duelist in the world!" Kaiba boasts, not far from the truth since he had once even managed to defeat the deck containing his coveted 'Blue Eyes White Dragons', playing against his own dueling data. He had taken Yugi to the edge in each and every one of their encounters, getting closer and closer to victory each time. It was now only a matter of time before he reclaimed his rightful place as top duelist in the world. Yet despite all of this widely available knowlege, this vain, deluded girl would dare to stand against him? What could she possibly want so badly that she was so determined to achieve victory?  
  
"That's right, Kaiba-san, you're the best duelist, so you have the best cards." Nanami agrees, ready to spring her trap and gain the attention that was so rightfully hers. "Or did you get this far because you have the best cards? Do you really deserve them?" She asks, taunting him as she purposly builds the feeling of suspense among the crowd.  
  
"Get to the point, you little twit, because everyone knows that I more than deserve my cards." Kaiba spits, his statement resulting in nods from most of the elite duelists, and at the very least, looks of agreement on the faces of the rose duelists. Nanami laughs suddenly, basically closing the trap on Kaiba as he walks right in, drawn by her basless laims and her utter insolence. "What are you laughing about, you little worm? Or are you as mad as one can be when they're so utterly deluded, that they think that they can defeat me?" He asks, questionning her sanity, as is the rest of the room, unaware of the validity of the inquiry.  
  
"Oh, I'm not insane, Kaiba-san, since I'm not the one who left one of my most prized posessions to chance in this tournament." Nanami responds, laughing in a manner that would be typical of one of diminished sanity, and also raising an eyebrow on Kaiba. He had ensured that he would not lose anything that would horribly alter his life should he lose the tournament, his lawyers had seen to every detail, so what on earth was this maniacal child babbling about? "When I win, Kaiba-san, I plan to take the things that make you the duelist that you are today, I'm going to take your 'Blue Eyes White Dragons'!!" 


End file.
